This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art. This section also provides a general summary of the disclosure, and is not a comprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features.
Outdoor navigation using GPS receivers installed in various types of consumer electronics devices, especially smartphones and tablet computers, has become very common. However, indoor navigation can be problematic as GPS signals are blocked by ceilings and building walls and accuracy is on the order of building dimensions.
According to the principles of the present teachings, an array of magnetic beacons is used for localizing a receiver equipped with a magnetic sensor. A mobile device, such as but not limited to a smartphone or a tablet computer, with an internal magnetometer can be employed as a receiver. Exploiting smartphones and tablets for indoor navigation is a great advantage when considering convenience, simplicity, and low cost. In some embodiments, the navigation area is covered by magnetic beacons deployed in known locations. Each beacon generates an AC magnetic field with a unique signature enabling the receiver to distinguish between beacons. The signature may feature a specific single frequency tone, a combination of frequencies, or any other modulated signal. A software application running on the receiver enables self-localization by means of detection and identification of the nearest beacon. A system prototype has been developed and used to test the method of the present teachings in field conditions. Experimental results show successful localization, which paves the way for a full scale development of an effective indoor navigation system. The good results together with simple implementation make the method of the present teachings attractive for a wide range of indoor localization applications, including: pedestrian and robot navigation, in building rescue missions, vision impaired assistance, and location aware services, just to mention a few.
Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. The description and specific examples in this summary are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
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